A little pink stomach with legs and a smile talks about treating ulcers.

A 30ish fellow walks along a beach with his dog, philosophizing about baldness and ways to fight it.

A daughter tells her mother that finally, there is an antihistamine that won`t put her to sleep.

In one sense, these commercials, with their emphasis on children, animals, and slice-of-life conversations, are standard advertising fare.

But take a closer look. Conspicuous by its absence is any direct mention of a product.

Regulations by the Food and Drug Administration severely restrict the advertising of brand-name prescription drugs. Sponsors -- high-profile pharmaceutical companies such as SmithKline Beckman, Ciba-Geigy, Upjohn and Merrell Dow -- content themselves with a ``this message brought to you by`` tag line, and a suggestion that doctors and patients talk about the new treatments modern pharmacology has to offer.

Welcome to the world of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs -- or, as they are called in the industry parlance, ethical drugs.

It is a world where the premier rule of Madison Avenue, which is get the product`s name out quickly and adamantly, is turned on its ear.

It is a world that, for such reasons as the proliferation of new drugs and a glut of medical journals, is growing larger each day.

And it is a world that has sparked controversy in pharmaceutical, advertising and regulatory circles: To wit, does advertising ethical drugs, by name or otherwise, help educate people and encourage them to seek professional help for medical problems?

Or, does such advertising confuse consumers, interfere with the doctor- patient relationship, and promote overuse of drugs? And does it really lead to higher sales for drug companies, or just more revenues for ad agencies and television networks?

``These ads provide a real service to consumers, because without them a lot of people would not know there are products and treatments available for their problems,`` said Kirk R. Schueler, vice president of marketing for Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals USA.

Medical experts are not so sure.

``On free speech grounds, I could not feel comfortable forbidding communication by any company on its products, but it seems to be resulting in a disproportionate amount of information about pharmacological solutions to problems and not nearly enough about lifestyle solutions, like quitting smoking or cutting down on caffeine,`` said Dr. Jerry Avorn, an associate professor at the Harvard Medical School.

Many medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Pharmaceutical Association, have informed the FDA of their opposition to brand-name advertising of prescription drugs and their grudging acceptance of unbranded advertising.